The Baltimore Museum of Art commissioned Post Typography to design the inaugural Big Table space in the museum’s remodeled Contemporary Wing. Post Typography contracted with Wesley (Stuckey Design) to work with the BMA’s education department and exhibition designer Maria Mortati on the project.

Together, we created an engaging space and accompanying activities where museum-goers explore the use of text in contemporary art. Captions that illuminate each piece extend across floor-to-ceiling wall lettering, turning the space into an immersive, room-size infographic.

Using different types and styles of visual vocabulary, we took a simple message, “Words Are Pictures Are Words,” and created an array of examples that depict how context, execution, format, material, and scale change the legibility of words and meaning.

At the activity table, guests were encouraged to think about how Letters are Shapes; and how Shapes are Letters. By isolating a single letter onto a sheet of paper, the mind is able to abstract its form from its meaning. Using colored pencils, guests created their own “Pictures & Words.”

Design Enjoy Trip